text: In Prussia, a reform in 1816 defined the Prussian civil pound in terms of the Prussian foot and distilled water. It also redefined the apothecaries pound as 12 ounces, i.e.  of the civil pound: 350.78 g. This reform was not popular with apothecaries, because it broke the uniformity of the apothecaries pound in Germany at a time when a German national state was beginning to form. It seems that many apothecaries did not follow this reduction by 2%.
  Another reform in 1856 increased the civil pound from 467.711 g to 500.000 g (the German civil pound defined by the Zollverein), as a first step towards metrication. As a consequence the official apothecaries' pound was now 375.000 g, i.e. it was increased by 7%, and it was now very close to the troy standards. §4 of the law that introduced this reform said: "Further, a pharmaceutical weight deviating from the civil weight does not take place." But this paragraph was suspended until further notice.
  The abolishment of the apothecaries system meant that doctors prescriptions had to take place in terms of the current civil weight: grammes and kilograms. This was considered unfeasible by many, and the state received numerous protests and asked for expertises. Nevertheless, by 1868 §4 of the earlier reform was finally put into force.